On average women will have 480 periods in their lifetime, yet periods still seem very much something we talk about in hushed tones with the word “period” mouthed in air speech marks.
You might know that your best friend’s secret crush is Louis Theroux but did you know that she has such heavy and clotty periods that she has had to replace the mattress twice last year?
Given its absence on many brunch agendas and the number of alternative names we have created to avoid saying the word “period”. On the rag, got the painters in, visit from Aunt Flo… see what I mean? It becomes quite tricky to know what a “normal” period looks like, and perhaps more importantly, what “not normal” looks like ?
When working with patients I ensure I ask an annoying amount of questions about their monthly cycle, I find it a brilliant insight into what is happening in their bodies.
It never fails to amaze me how much women put up with before seeking help when it comes to their periods. Crippling pain which needs constant painkillers or flooding so bad they are unable to go out. Bleeding for 10 days with a short cycle of 21 days, leaving very few days in a month when they are not bleeding. Or in the case of many PCOS sufferers, no period for nearly a year so they can feel stuck in PMT and generally feel dreadful.
Your age and your gynaecological history will impact your period experience. As a very rough guide your period should be 26 – 32 days in cycle length, arriving relatively pain and PMT free, starting with bright fresh blood. Bleeding should be happen for 3-5 days and flow should be moderate so taking about 4 hours for a tampon or pad to become fully soaked.
Only about 20% of women I treat actually have “text book” periods and I suspect that is reflective of those reading this. Unexpected mid-cycle bleeding should be checked out especially when there is no obvious reason, like a change in medication.
From a Chinese Medicine perspective, it’s all about patterns. Heavy bleeding, painful periods that start and stop with dark blood and dark clots might mean “blood stasis”. Short light periods might mean “blood deficiency”. From a Western Medicine perspective short cycle length with heavy periods might suggest a progesterone imbalance or no period might suggest an ovulation issue.
A good starting point towards hormone health is to track your cycle, the first day of bleed, length, how you felt etc. There are many Apps out there now such as Flo or Eve that can help you do to this easily. Information is definitely power and tracking definitely isn’t something you should just do when you are trying to get pregnant
Periods which are causing you day-to-day problems are indicative of the body being out of balance in some way. Many women see improvements with acupuncture and herbs. Sometimes even as an unexpected positive side effect, I have seen women who have acupuncture for back issues become not only pain free back wise but also had more regulated cycles with less PMT.
If needles or herbs are not your thing, reflexology is also popular and again I have witnessed some quite significant changes in women’s period health from regular treatments. Natural options will always work with the body so a good option when you are dealing with complex hormone rebalancing.
Women are under more and more pressure to deliver at home and in the workplace so let’s not put up with negative life impacting symptoms once a month. Seek some help whether from your GP or chat to someone about natural alternatives. Let’s make period health less taboo, if not for us then at least for our daughters.
